Demonstrating the power of locally-owned community energy projects to accelerate the UK’s low-carbon transition Westmill Solar Co-operative, the UK’s first community-owned solar farm, has opened and is accepting applications for funding up to £5,000 from its new Community Grants Scheme. The 5MW solar park has now been operating under community ownership for nearly 8 years.…

The Coalition for Healthy Streets and Active Travel (CoHSAT) is a group of voluntary and campaigning organisations working across Oxfordshire to create attractive, accessible and people-friendly streets. They are working to promote efficient, active, low carbon and sustainable travel, which will reduce traffic, air pollution and noise, and enable healthy and thriving communities. The group…

Join us for webinars on energy efficiency for businesses This autumn Energy Solutions Oxfordshire is holding a series of fortnightly online webinars exploring topics relating to the importance of energy efficiency for businesses – how it can help organisations save money on their energy bills, improve comfort for staff and customers, and do their bit…

Join us for webinars on home retrofit and energy efficiency This autumn Cosy Homes Oxfordshire held a series of fortnightly online webinars exploring topics relating to home retrofit and energy efficiency, giving homeowners a chance to gain a better understanding of the importance of home retrofit. The series is now complete, but all of the…

We’ve been running a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. Running large volumes of renewable generation creates new challenges for the energy system. The sun and wind…

This month the UK government’s economic and finance ministry announced that a £2 billion fund providing grants for home energy improvements work would be set up by September 2020, offering homeowners vouchers to undertake retrofit work. There have been limited details of the scheme released, so it’s difficult to know exactly how it will work at this point.…

Join us to discuss the future of energy, in our series of webinars The world may be focused on the immediate threat of coronavirus, but we feel strongly that it’s as important as ever for us to continue with our work to tackle the climate crisis and create a zero carbon energy system that’s good…

We’ve been running a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) is developing and testing new energy services and business models from a…

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. A lot of attention is paid to the technology in energy systems, especially the newer ‘smart’ technology. But…

Each year every Community Member of the Low Carbon Hub is eligible to apply for a large grant of up to £5000, to support carbon-cutting activities, and we are usually able to award 2-3 grants per year. This year one of our grant recipients is GreenTEA (Transition Eynsham Area). They applied for a Low Carbon…

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is a one-stop home retrofit service aiming to improve energy efficiency in our homes to reduce carbon emissions. The programme is now in its second year, with the service fully up and running, so we’re now looking to make improvements to the service and our processes, as well as to develop key…

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. For our fourth webinar, Dr Scot Wheeler of Oxford University gave an overview of the smart-grid trials which have already…

How to keep the momentum going on climate change and ensure a green recovery from COVID-19: advice and ideas from low carbon community groups across the UK From the very start of lockdown restrictions in the UK we’ve been impressed and inspired by our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Groups, who have been adapting to the…

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. For our third webinar, Melanie Bryce gave an overview of the first year of Project Local Energy Oxfordshire…

And we’re so grateful for your support We’re absolutely thrilled to announce that yesterday evening (9 June 2020) we met our £1.5 million target for new investment in our Community Energy Fund. A huge thank you to those of you who have invested and put your money to work tackling climate change! This does mean…

Join us for a Community Coffee Morning on Tuesday 16 June at 11am Date: Tuesday 16 June 2020Time: 11am-12pm We’re holding an online Community Coffee Morning at 11am on Tuesday 16 June for low carbon community groups across the UK – and we’d love to see you there. This event forms part of Community Energy…

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. We held our second webinar on Tuesday 2 June, titled: Energy system transition – a better local solution.…

We’ve started a series of webinars, discussing the future of energy and our work at the Low Carbon Hub to create an energy system which is good for people and for the planet, in Oxfordshire and beyond. We held our first webinar on Tuesday 26 May, titled: Investing in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy…

Communities in lockdown: how Oxfordshire’s low carbon community groups have been adapting to lockdown and continuing their carbon-cutting activities From the very start of lockdown restrictions in the UK we’ve been impressed and inspired by our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Groups, who have been adapting to the situation in a myriad of ways and…

Our Low Carbon Hub Board helps to direct our future direction and strategy, as well as ensuring that we’re always best serving the interest of our shareholders – both our Low Carbon Hub IPS Investor Members and our Low Carbon Hub CIC Community Group Members. As part of the Board we have a Communities Director,…

As you may know, the Low Carbon Hub is one of the project partners for Project LEO (Local Energy Oxfordshire) – one of the most ambitious, wide-ranging, innovative and holistic smart network trials ever conducted in the UK. The project is exploring how the UK’s energy system needs to change so that we can achieve…

February 2020 saw us welcome two more schools to the Low Carbon Hub. Langford Village Community Primary School (Bicester) and West Witney Primary School and Nursery (Witney) are the latest schools to benefit from a solar programme supported by Oxfordshire County Council and run by the Low Carbon Hub. Both Langford and West Witney now…

On Tuesday 28 April 2020 the UK’s electricity grid hit a new record for the longest coal-free period since pre-industrial times (previously been held at 18 days), with coal power plants offline from midnight on Friday 10 April. This coal-free period has been due to maximised levels of solar energy generation, due to high levels…

Saving money for the future is one of the best gifts you can give to a child, often helping towards major life goals such as putting down a deposit for a house. If you invest a small amount of money now, over a number of years that could become a substantial pot of money. For…

Active Oxfordshire and Cyclox are partnering up to provide free of charge, refurbished bikes for Oxford’s NHS and social care heroes to ensure they can get to work if they aren’t able (or don’t feel comfortable) to use public transport during COVID-19 lockdown. They are aiming to raise enough funds to provide 100 bikes to…

We hope all our partners, Members, and supporters are currently safe and well in these unprecedented times. When social distancing restrictions went into place in the UK, our immediate priority was to ensure that our staff team were able to continue to work effectively from the safety of their own homes. We also needed to…

Previously, we explored why investing your money in a positive way is a great action to take if you want to do something about climate change. But with so many elements making up climate change (food production, fossil fuel extraction, biodiversity loss, media and communication etc), how do you decide where to make an investment?…

The impact of OxFutures so far: case studies OxFutures is a programme that offers free energy audits to SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in Oxfordshire to identify energy-saving opportunities, which will reduce energy bills and cut carbon emissions. The project also has grants available to part-fund implementation of the measures recommended by the audit, as…

Your feedback is vital in making sure we’re doing as much as we can to meet our mission of creating an energy system that’s good for the planet, and for people. We always want to be improving our work, and how we communicate it with the people who support us, just like you. That’s why…

We often get questions from people who want to get involved with our work on tackling climate change in Oxfordshire. Unfortunately, we aren’t currently set up to take on volunteers at the Low Carbon Hub, so we’re limited in the ways you can be directly involved in our work. However, there are lots of other…

Three more years of OxFutures! We have some extremely exciting news: a three-year extension to the OxFutures programme has been approved, meaning we are now able to continue the programme through to 2023. The extension will be continued by partners, Low Carbon Hub and the Oxford Brookes Environmental Information Exchange team, and means that we…

Investor stories: why invest in the Low Carbon Hub’s Community Energy Fund? We already have over 1,000 Investor Members – people who have chosen to invest their spare money in the Low Carbon Hub and support us in accelerating the transition to a zero carbon energy system. But why have these Members invested in us?…

Hook Norton Community Land Trust is developing a group of affordable and sustainable homes in the village of Hook Norton. The Trust was officially set up in July 2019 and since then they’ve shared information through hosting a webpage on the website of Hook Norton Low Carbon. But, they now have a wealth of information…

The Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Fund is the opportunity for investors to put your money to work delivering local projects which tackle climate change. Each round of the Community Energy Fund supports a different range of projects, so we wanted to outline what the £1.5 million we’re aiming to raise in this round will…

With the growing threat of COVID-19, we’d already made the decision to close our office at the Wood Centre for Innovation. However, we are continuing to work hard to fulfil our mission of a zero carbon energy system which is good for people and for the planet – we’re just doing it from home for…

In Oxford, our buildings are responsible for the largest proportion of our annual carbon emissions – as outlined in the Oxford’s Citizen’s Assembly on Climate Change in September 2019. The Low Carbon Hub is bringing an exciting new service to Oxfordshire, designed to help local enterprises in Oxfordshire to tackle this problem. Small and medium…

Our Community Energy Fund has now re-opened for new investment. With your help we can make an energy system that works for all of us, and for the planet, a reality. Find out more below, or invest in the Community Energy Fund now. Deadline: 10 June 2020Target raise: £1.5 million Minimum investment: £250Maximum investment: £100,000Interest…

We’re all trying to do our bit to tackle the climate crisis, with our time, our choices, and our money. When it comes to how we use our money, we commonly think of how our spending influences climate change, taking actions such as swapping to a renewable energy provider, choosing sustainably sourced fish, or opting…

Note: this post is now closed. The Low Carbon Hub has a vacancy for a Finance Manager to join our expanding team. The Finance Manager will be responsible for overseeing the smooth running of the finance function, ensuring the systems and processes are robust and efficient, as well as being agile and adaptable to cope…

Note: this post is now closed. The Low Carbon Hub have a vacancy for a Energy Services Company (ESCO) Business Development Manager. The ESCO is a new company being set up by the Low Carbon Hub, which will increase the take up of energy efficiency measures by SME businesses in Oxfordshire. The Business Development Manager…

The Low Carbon Hub Community Energy Champions Guide Councils across the country, including Oxford City Council, have now that we’re in a state of climate emergency. It’s time to act. We all have our part to play when it comes to mitigating the effects of climate change. Here at the Low Carbon Hub we’re primarily…

We’re very excited to announce that Project LEO has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Network Awards 2020, within the category of ‘Partnership Initiative of the Year’. The Network Awards celebrate individuals and organisations that have demonstrated exceptional performance in the energy industry, and are shaping the energy system of tomorrow. Winners are announced…

We want to hear your thoughts on ground mount solar in Oxfordshire We are facing a climate emergency, which demands that we transition to zero carbon as soon as possible. Energy plays a huge part in this. How we achieve this is still under debate – but it’s clear that we must: reduce energy demand…

In January 2019 the Oxford City Council officially declared a climate emergency in Oxford. In April they announced that Oxford would hold the UK’s first citizens assembly, to discuss how we should address the climate crisis within Oxford. This citizens assembly was held over two weekends at the Said Business School, the first in September 2019…

As 2019 comes to a close, we wanted to reflect on our Hub highlights of the year – it’s been a big one! Community Energy Fund 2019 We re-opened our Community Energy Fund for 2019, welcoming over 200 new investors and raising a huge £734,900, which is now already supporting community energy – increasing our portfolio…

In February 2019 we announced that Low Carbon Hub were part of a consortium (alongside RetrofitWorksand National Energy Foundation) which had won a bid with the Department for Business, Energy, and Industry Strategy (BEIS) to develop a home retrofit scheme in Oxfordshire. This bid became Cosy Homes Oxfordshire –a home retrofit service aiming to help…

Do you have a background in the building industry? If so, would you like to train and become a Retrofit Coordinator? Cosy Homes Oxfordshire is a partnership project being delivered by Low Carbon Hub, RetrofitWorks and the National Energy Foundation to help homeowners improve the energy efficiency of their homes. It’s a scheme which is new…

Over the past eight years, the Low Carbon Hub has more than trebled in size. At its smallest, our team consisted of 3 members of staff and we have grown to our current number of 16! We have also increased the number of our investor members to over 1000, a number which we hope will…

Home energy consumption accounts for around 30% of total energy used in the UK, and around 20% of our total carbon emissions. According to Ofgem, the average UK home with a medium energy consumption uses 12,000 kWh of gas per year and 3,100 kWh of electricity per year. That represents total carbon emissions of 3,067kg…

Over the past eight years, the Low Carbon Hub has partnered with 29 schools to install 5,647 solar PV panels. Our Solar Schools service offers schools a comprehensive solar installation service to power your schools with community-owned, discounted green electricity. Schools signing up for a free solar rooftop survey can apply for a grant to…

In November 2019 we installed an extension to our existing solar project on the roof of UTC Aerospace Systems CTG in Banbury, Oxfordshire. The background This solar roof array was already our largest rooftop solar install, and thought to be the UK’s largest community-owned rooftop solar array. When first installed, there were 2590 solar pv…

On 17 October a group of Oxford University master’s students visited Sandford Hydro as part of their Energy Systems course. The group received a tour from Harry Orchard, our Operations and Maintenance Assistant, and were shown the inner workings of the electric hydro plant. They went inside the control room where it’s possible to see the overview…

We would like to say a massive thank you to all who came to the ‘Inspired by Communities’ event prior to the Low Carbon Hub Joint AGM on 7 October and who helped to make it such a genuinely inspiring experience. The room at the Town Hall was full with many of our CIC Community…

Cosy Homes Oxfordshire, a home retrofit service, has recently launched and we are seeking to register new building contractors (builders, architects, energy assessors, surveyors, and more) and Retrofit Coordinators to undertake energy efficiency improvement work across Oxfordshire. If you work within the construction industry or building trades, or know someone who does, then encourage them…

For the third year in a row, we are thrilled to report that most people who responded to our annual ‘How are we doing? survey find us to be committed to the creation of a low carbon, locally-owned renewable energy system and trust in our expertise.  Every year we ask our members, supporters, community groups,…

At a meeting of cabinet on 29 May 2019, Oxford City Council agreed to renew their offer of a revolving loan facility of £2.3m to Low Carbon Hub to support the build of more community energy projects in Oxfordshire. The funds will enable the Low Carbon Hub to build more renewable energy projects across the…

We are really excited to announce the launch of Project LEO or ‘Local Energy Oxfordshire’ – a £40m three-year collaborative project that will change the energy system as we know it. The project has been awarded £13.8m from the UK Government Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, managed by Innovate UK, and will be supported by £26m…

We were thrilled to hear that three communities in Oxfordshire offered to combine the funding raised through the carrier bag charge in their local Co-ops and donate it to our Community Benefit Fund.  Many thanks to communities involved in Banbury, Central Oxford and Kidlington & North West Oxfordshire for this donation of just over £9,000.  The…

We are thrilled to announce that the 2019 round of our Community Energy Fund raised £726,650 in investment to support community energy in Oxfordshire. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who chose to invest in us and put their money to work tackling climate change. In addition to investment raised through…

We are really pleased to announce we have led a winning consortium bid with the Department for Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (BEIS) to lay the foundations for developing a home retrofit scheme in Oxfordshire.  Delivering the project will be the Low Carbon Hub, the National Energy Foundation which is already active in the county providing the…

This time of year is a great opportunity to reflect and so we’ve picked out a few highlights of what we got up to this past year, all possible thanks to the help and support of our investor and community members and partners.  We launched an exciting new opportunity to support community energy through the Community…

The Low Carbon Hub is to be awarded a European Solar Prize 2018 at an award ceremony in Bonn on 17 November 2018.  Every year EUROSOLAR awards the European Solar Prize to role models and pioneers in the field of renewable energy and brings a wide variety of energy transition actors from all parts of…

We’re really pleased to welcome our 28th solar school to the Low Carbon Hub. Longfields Primary and Nursery School in Bicester now have a fully installed array of solar panels that will provide around a third of the school’s energy needs.  Longfields is the latest to join a growing number of schools across Oxfordshire to…

Low Carbon Hub has joined forces with an expert consortium of partners in a new project called The Next Generation, a fund to develop new decentralised, decarbonised, and democratised energy business models.  The Next Generation fund will provide grants of up to £100,000 to ten community energy groups to work on new business models for…

The new generation season for Sandford Hydro is restarting again with the (slow) return of the rains! Clean electricity is now being generated by the hydro on the weir at Sandford, although not yet at full power. It is the large winter output of the hydro that brilliantly complements solar panels, which this summer experienced record…

There are lots of reasons to invest in the Low Carbon Hub. When we ask our investors, they talk about wanting to do their bit to tackle climate change, support local projects and make their money do a social good.  Check out our infographic below where we’ve picked out just ten reasons to invest in…

As you’ve probably noticed, it has been fairly sunny in Oxfordshire recently!  This means that at the moment some of our solar schools who are getting most of their electricity from their solar panels. They are not only using renewable energy and cutting CO2 emissions, but they are also saving money!  Percentage of electricity currently coming from…

The results are in for our 2018 ‘How are we doing?’ survey and they show that people continue to trust in our expertise around local, renewable energy and low carbon. Our respondents also continue to perceive us to be committed to the creation of a low carbon, locally owned renewable energy system. We’re really pleased…

Following a recent election, the community group members of Low Carbon Hub’s CIC have elected a new Community Director to the Board of Directors: Nina Alphey.  Nina is a long-term member of Westmill Solar Co-operative Ltd and has served on its Board since 2016. She was also an active member of low carbon community group…

Large grants We are offering two grants of up to £5,000 for this year’s large grants fund, available to our community group members. These grants are part of the ‘community benefit’ we return to communities.  The year’s theme is energy efficiency. We are interested in applications relating to residential, commercial and public buildings; your project…

2017 has been a busy year with some key milestones and achievements for the Low Carbon Hub, including the completion of the Sandford Hydro project, receiving £1.2m in European Regional Development Funding and producing our first ever Social Impact Report. And there were lots of other exciting bits of news in between.  Take a look…

As well as providing help and advice, Low Carbon Hub also offers financial support to  our community shareholder groups wanting to carry out carbon-cutting activity in their community. Here is a case study of what one group did with a small grant we awarded them. Westmill Sustainable Energy Trust (WeSET) was one of the last community groups to successfully…

This video, courtesy of Stone’s Throw Media, shows an unused roof at UTC Aerospace Systems CTG in Banbury being transformed into a people’s power station. Work with us We want to work with more local businesses to develop ‘people’s power stations’ for community benefit. 

First project for social developer Low Carbon Hub within new FiTs regime Oxford, 21 November 2016 ~ CTG, a Banbury-based site of UTC Aerospace Systems, is now host to the UK’s biggest community-owned rooftop solar array. At 712kW, the 2590 panel project will generate 593,304 kWh of clean electricity every year — enough to power 150…

We asked and you chose a colour for the Archimedes screws at Sandford! Last week we did a poll to ask what colour we should specify for the three Archimedes screws at Sandford Hydro. With 36% of the vote the winner was Water Blue RAL 5021! If you’d like to receive occasional updates just about progress…

We’ve won the world’s leading green energy award! Low Carbon Hub has won the UK Ashden Award for Sustainable Communities. Our clean energy social enterprise is a joint winner with Repowering London. The award ceremony this evening (9th June) will include winners from the UK, Africa, Indonesia, Mauritania, Asia and Central America — a truly global…